What if
by Yami-no-Aura
Summary: What if the reality you remembered is completely impossible? Would you go crazy, or would you steer into the skid? What if you were given the choice to change the outcome of it all?
1. Prologue

Hey guys! Long time no see! So I've been checking out the "new" fandom for a while and wow- anime has become even better through the years! So I'm brainstorming and think this little drabble may turn in to a longer story. I'm just waiting for my word account to be unlocked and then I'll start on the longer bits it sucks big time when I only have iPhone notes to use. NOT fun. So hope you guys like this little teaser, cause my next work is definitely going to be... Well... I don't really know yet I'll let the characters decide ;)

Prologue: multiverse theory

"Eren Jaeger? Isn't he that crazy guy who runs away after yelling at someone?"

"I think he's super hot!"

"Yeah! He's just misunderstood."

"He gets too damn worked up over nothing. I'd stay away from him if I were you"

"It's like he's got PTSD or something, but he's never actually been through anything traumatic- it's really weird"

It's always the same whenever I ask anybody about him. He's too crazy- gets worked up over nothing. Remembers things that couldn't have possibly happened. And some of the explanations are just downright idiotic. He never tells anybody, but I can see through it. It's in his eyes.

He _remembers_...

"I can't _wait _to tell Erwin and Levi" said the odd journalist, shaking in curious glee as they walked away from the small town high school.

_Prologue_...


	2. Chapter 1: A World Apart

Hey guys! Sorry it's been so long since I've done anything. The inspiration never really hit me until now. Now just a quick heads up, this story WILL be tying in to the canon universe at points and WILL CONTAIN MAJOR SPOILERS so if you haven't read the manga, I'd suggest doing so. I plan on tying critical moments in the manga (even birth of Levi) to the events of this story so if you care about spoilers please just go read the manga. Hopefully this will be a fun ride! I got this idea one day while watching Doctor Who and Star Trek, and have been chomping at the bit to get to fiddle with the theory so without further ado, hope you enjoy! -Yami no Aura

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Chapter 1: A World Apart

It had been almost 8 years since he'd had a memory come through his dreams. Eren Jaeger awoke to the feeling of his phone buzzing under his head. He groaned, turning his head and smacking his dry lips as he groggily looked at the caller ID. When had he fallen asleep? Why was his editor calling him so god damn early?

Why the hell was he crying? He pressed his fingers to his puffy, sleep-deprived eyes and looked down to see the tears that had been cascading down his cheeks.

A flash of crimson and silver flashed across his mind as realization spread throughout his features. He closed his eyes and leaned forward on his knees, a sigh escaping past his lips as he ran his hand thoughtfully through his mussed hair. Looking out through his blackout curtains, he saw that dusk was quickly approaching and cursed under his breath. He'd missed the meeting with his (obviously upset editor), five hours ago.

"Shit" he exclaimed. He'd _just_ missed her! Six missed calls already; he was in for it.

He stretched his arms above his head in an attempt to loosen his aching muscles. He'd been up all night trying to brainstorm as to what would happen next in his graphic novel series, but had yielded little to no results. Mikasa was going to seriously hurt him when he walked in to the office with nothing to show for his absence that day- other than his dejected and apologetic face. He prayed that she would be in a forgiving mood this evening, picking up his phone and pressing the call button. He made sure to hold the device at a respectable distance so as not to deafen himself with the upcoming lecture.

"Where are you? I've been trying to reach you all day! What happened? You're so lucky Armin wasn't taking part in that meeting today. Are you safe?" exclaimed the worried voice in the receiver. Fuck, he'd really screwed up; if Armin had been leading the meeting that day he'd have been in deep shit.

'Poor Mika- she must've been really worried' Eren thought to himself as he carefully began to explain what had happened. "I'm really sorry Mika. I've been trying, but I just can't get Nelve out of the forest. I was awake all night and must've fallen asleep. I think it's time to kill her, 'cause I don't see a way out of this one."

"What if you brought in a new character? Isn't it about time to bring in a love interest? Maybe a rogue hunter or someth-"

"No way. I can't just start bringing false hope into a hopeless situation. This is a survival horror, not a romance" he reasoned.

Ever since he'd created his world of death and destruction, his fans had been hoping that he'd give his characters a break; let them have a little bit of happiness. But that's never how things ended in reality. In reality, there was no rogue hunter to save the day; no beautiful stranger to sweep in and fix everything. People died horrifically without any reprieve- even the main character would have to succumb to death. It was poetic justice- a symbol of the inevitable symptom of the parasitic existence of humanity. It would be a prime example of how cruel and unforgiving the world could be.

He remembered the vivid colors of his nightmare, the face of his comrade taking his last breath before being ripped in two and eaten alive before his very eyes. It looked like his other self had surpassed yet another comrade- the man was surprisingly almost death proof with his capabilities. But he hadn't expected to live longer than his former captain. Had Levi been... smiling at him? He'd said something, but Eren couldn't make out the words through the screams- Hanji's, Erwin's, even Mikasa. This had been quite the tragic moment for the group; the loss of humanity's strongest would set their race back exponentially.

He shook his head thoughtfully when Mikasa brought him out of his musing.

"Did you have another morphing?" she asked tentatively, worry coming through in waves through their connection.

"Yeah- Levi this time..." he drawled out. He thought about the man he knew in the waking world; pale, thin and toned. The Levi in his morphing though- he'd been nothing but pure muscle, battle scars lining his body from near death experiences, and wars waged amongst the monsters and humans alike. He'd even been shot several times, but still managed to carry on. He'd never smiled or laughed, even when he'd tell his numerous shit jokes. But still... Why had he died with a smile on his face, and what he been saying to the group? His eyes had been so soft, like he had finally felt peace.

"Do you want to go back to Tamward? Maybe Hanji can adjust your dosage of the kell serum for you" he heard Mikasa offer.

"No, I'll be fine. She said that not all morhpings could be avoided; besides, if I can trigger some more, maybe I can find a way out of the forest for Nelve" he reasoned.

"Okay, well can we meet up? We still need to go over what happened in the meeting today and we need to talk about where you're going with the next installment. The deadline is coming up in the next couple of weeks. Maybe we should put the series on hiatus after this installment so you don't overwork yourself"

"Yeah, maybe. I _did_ want to talk to Levi and see if he remembers anything about his death" he said.

"How bad was it?"

"Not as bad as yours" he said with a smirk. The group had had an ongoing bet as to who's death was most horrific in their alternate dimension. One of them would remember another's death suddenly for no explainable reason and would then place their scenario on the whiteboard in the mess hall of Tamward- an organization to help heal the minds of those afflicted with the morphing, and hopefully one day a cure to save the human race of the parallel universe.

He shook himself out of his musings, nodding to nobody in particular in the dark room. It'd been so long ago when he found out his memories weren't just him being crazy. He'd finally been able to recover with the help of Hanji's kell serum- a memory connection suppressant- and make something of himself. He put the awful images that plagued him to paper and had quickly become famous for his horrific artwork and ruthless writing-style.

"So do you want to meet at the office or Maria?" he heard Mikasa ask.

"Mmm, Maria please. I'm starving" he said giddily. He heard the woman grunt in affirmation and hung up to try and make himself presentable. The best thing about being an artist was that nobody ever expected you to be well dressed outside of formal occasions or look well rested.

He looked over to his workstation, the different scenarios for his heroine showing nothing but death- each one more terrifying that the last. Maybe... He scooted himself into the rolling chair in front of the pages, grabbing a simple number 2 pencil and scribbled in the outline of a hooded figure racing forward to slay the giant about to grab Nelve.

"Eh, I don't know. Maybe it's not such a bad idea" he contemplated.

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The small diner was just under his apartment, and he walked gingerly to his favorite booth where one of his best friends was already seated and looking for him. When their eyes connected they each smiled at the other.

"Hey beautiful" he said, happily embracing her. She returned the gesture, kissing him lightly on the cheek before the two sat down in the old leather seats of the booth.

"You need a shower, Eren" Mikasa griped, smirking when she saw Eren try and perform his version of 'the sniff test' before shrugging and leaning forward give her a seductive gaze.

"Are you offering to join me if I do?" he grinned back, winking.

Mikasa snorted softly, giggling when the man began waggling his eyebrows at her. It had been this way since the two had met. Anybody who looked at the pair would swear they were dating, and they would simply play along until that person became uncomfortable. They'd certainly tried, but felt closer as friends. It didn't make much sense, but they both liked that about their history.

"Hey Eren. Mikasa. What can I get for you?" asked their favorite waiter. The two looked up and gave their usual spiel.

"Can we get a roman orgy and I'll have a large stack with meat lovers and scrambled eggs? Oh! And a chocolate milk with whipped cream- and strawberry syrup" Eren exclaimed.

"I'll have the crepes with blueberry syrup- blackberries on top please; and a water," she said politely. "Thanks, Connie".

"No problem" Connie smiled back, scribbling down their order before walking over to the chefs station.

Mikasa set her gaze back on Eren, and he knew exactly what was coming.

"I'm okay. Really. Scout's honor" he said. "I just overworked myself last night. But I think your idea might actually be a good one. The series needs a new twist or the readers will get bored."

Mikasa nodded, her face giving away none of the excitement he knew was boiling under the surface. She'd been a fan of his since he first created the concept for the graphic series, and had pleaded with him multiple times to create a love interest for the heroine. 'We've already dealt with so much pain and gore- why can't Nelve at least have _one_ thing to keep her going through the story?' She'd had a point. And after 5 years of death and gore and tearing his readers apart with each new installment, perhaps it was time to give them something to cling to.

"Have you thought of a character design yet?" Mikasa asked, curiosity lighting her features. She leaned in over the table, intent on picking his brain for every last detail. This is what he loved about the woman sitting in front of him; she always seemed so emotionless- even in this dimension- but underneath the dark facade was an avid fangirl who enjoyed playing video games and reading comics and manga. When you actually made time to get under the surface, she was a total nerd.

Eren leaned closer to her, a malicious smile forming on his lips. "You'll fall in love a first sight. He's a total dreamboat" he said, smirking at the haze that settled in the woman's eyes. If there was one thing Eren was good at, it was creating incredibly attractive characters.

And then killing them off in the most painful and heart wrenching manner, but that was beside the point.

They both turned their attention abruptly to the mouth watering aroma of their food making it's way over.

The owner of the diner, Sasha Braus, had created the menu entirely herself with the helpful consideration of her husband Connie. It was actually quite funny seeing them as a couple after dreaming of the two and their antics in the alternate dimension.

"One Roman Orgy, you sick bastards. The rest of your food will be out in a few minutes" Connie grinned as he placed the large platter of smoked meats, fruits and cheeses in front of the two.

"Thanks man!" Eren exclaimed, his stomach groaning in delight at the delicious smells wafting his way and immediately began digging in to the meal.

Mikasa thanked Connie as well and gingerly began plucking meat from a turkey leg, moaning softly at the taste. It was one of their favorite things to eat. When they'd first met at Tamward, they immediately connected and Mikasa took Eren to Maria for the first time. The look on his face when she ordered a Roman orgy was forever memorialized when she snapped a quick photo with her polaroid. This soon became a tradition as the two would take unsuspecting victims to the diner and subsequently embarrass their former comrades, photographing the moment they heard what they were to be "served".

"So are you going to ask Levi about what he remembers?" Mikasa asked through a mouthful of turkey.

"I will. I've been needing to visit Tamward anyway, so I think I'll go up there tonight or tomorrow. I have some things I need to discuss with Hanji and Erwin too, so why not kill three birds with one stone" he reasoned. Mikasa nodded in understanding. If all went according to plan, the group would soon be able relax from the constant stream of morphed memories of their alter egos.

Connie soon brought out their other plates of food and the two ate as they discussed the dreaded deadline and possible hiatus of his graphic series, 'A World Apart'.

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"It's almost time for Eren to leave"

Levi looked up slightly from his book to acknowledge the person excitedly entering the room, arching a brow to conceal the excitement in his own.

"Oi, don't you know how to knock, four eyes?" he responded coolly.

"You're really bad at hiding your emotions in this world, you know," came the voice of his boss following behind Hanji. Erwin's soft eyes landed on Levi, and the man scoffed lightly looking back down to the pages of the Kurt Vonnegut he was reading, pretending not to have heard the yeti. Honestly, the man towered over everybody!

"So when do you think he'll start remembering? Oh, I can't wait! We'll have to throw a party when it's all done-"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves now" Erwin quickly interjected. "We still have to be sure to keep everything from him or risk creating a time paradox."

Hanji quickly settled back down and looked to Levi with warm eyes. "How are you holding up?"

"Like a constipated clown" he replied dryly.

"Sooo, a politician?" Hanji quipped back playfully.

"Exactly"

Erwin chuckled softly at the two's antics, and cleared his throat for them to pay attention to his next words. "Come on you two. Let's get started on energizing the portal."

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The evening was wrapping up as Eren hugged Mikasa outside of the small diner to part ways.

"Are you sure you don't need anything before I go? I know you forget to wash your clothes"

"No, no, I'll be fine" he said bemused. "Man, Yuki's only 4 months old and you're already momming. Go home and mom _her_ or your other child. " He grinned at his own terrible humor. He still loved picking on Jean. He'd never stop loving it.

Mikasa smirked back at him and kissed him on the cheek. "Be safe family"

Eren nuzzled into her hair humming in contentment. "You too Mika. Love you"

They parted, Mikasa lightly punching his arm and hiding a blush behind a red cashmere scarf. It had once been a grand romantic gesture Eren performed to commemorate their "second first meeting". Dating had been wonderful, but they'd parted ways and soon became the best of friends. Sometimes Eren would look at her and forget they weren't together, but he loved her so purely he'd lose track of what his feelings truly were. 'Soul Twins' he'd call it. He thought the two of them would always be close to the other, even if they were different species. It was the feeling that one was lost without the other. Plus, all the fun they had acting like a couple to make innocent bystanders feel uncomfortable was some of the best fun they had.

Mikasa waved goodbye as she turned to walk away, and Eren waved back to her fondly. He trudged his way up the cement staircase to his apartment, unlocking the door and sighing happily at the warm heat that invited him home. His feet took him back to his workstation and he looked down onto the rough sketch of what he thought would have to be the most beautiful man he could possibly think of. He grabbed the pencil he'd left earlier and filled in some features, setting to work on the specific curves and edges of the man's body and face. To be honest it kind of reminded him of Levi.

'Ugh, don't even go there dude. If he knew what you're thinking he'd never speak to you again' he thought, a regretful look sweeping across his features.

Sitting at the worn desk, he began taking his tools out and trying (but failing) to bring out less 'Levi-like' features in the love interest's character design. 'Eh. It's a cartoon. No one will notice' he thought to himself, and began bringing out his favorite parts- hard, silver eyes that bore into one's soul; the way his right eyebrow bent just off of where it should. He made the man taller and more muscular to throw readers (mostly his circle of friends) off. His heroine clenched her eyes shut in fear of the giant about to clamp it's gnarled yellow teeth into her skull when all of a sudden a black cloak flashed behind the monster's head, blades cutting so deep they almost tear through to Nelve's face. A panel flashes sharply to her eyes dilated in a surprised adrenaline rush.

He sketched Nelve slowly lifting herself to her hands and knees, looking up at her savior standing atop the giant's limp corpse, gazing down on her thoughtfully as hot steam began rising from the body beneath him.

"Are you alright?"-

"Oi, you kids. What's going on here?"

Eren's eyes snapped open at the morph flowing into his mind, his hand going still in an attempt to latch on to the thought. It'd been so long since he'd dreamt or thought about his soul's previous life; twice in one day was a slightly scary record . Most of it was terrifying and heart breaking, but other times he'd get a flash of something good- something sweet and tender. Like the first time he'd been shown an Atlas, courtesy of Armin. And he remembered griping at the blonde for how illegal it was to possess such an item, before he was shown the contents of said book. He grasped on to the tendrils of the psychic link and allowed his mind to be pulled elsewhere. 'Please don't be another death' he prayed silently.

His other self was raising his head groggily, looking up to see Lance Corporal Levi, second in command of the Scouting Legion. The man was looking down on he, Armin and Mikasa. The young cadets stood, holding Eren close, mouths agape at what the small Corporal had accomplished so easily. His skills were truly admirable. The man demanded an explanation but he received none from Eren, for the boy was too exhausted to function properly. As he felt the pulls of his consciousness he couldn't help but marvel at the quiet power the man possessed.

His eyes focused back to his reality and he looked to his alarm clock, seeing the bright red 1:25 flashing back at him. He yawned, looking at the work he'd accomplished. It was truly beautiful. It was obvious now that the design was based off of Levi, but who cared? He'd based plenty of characters off of his friends. He rose from his chair and pushed his way to the bathroom to turn on the shower. He brushed his teeth as he waited for the water to heat up and disrobed after spitting the thick foam in to the sink and rinsing it down the drain. A sigh escaped his lips as he walked under the hot spray, a delightful shiver running down his body. He rubbed his body wash into his skin, massaging his sore muscles and slicking his hair back as he moaned under the pressure of his own hands.

He thought about the last time he'd had sex; shit, how long had it been? He was due a bit of fun after going abstinent for longer than he should.

A yawn made it's way to his mouth that made him rethink his previous desire, so he simply turned the water off and grabbed a towel before patting himself dry and slinking none-too-gracefully to his bed. There'd be a long day ahead of him tomorrow, what with the upcoming plans for the release of a currently half-finished chapter. Though now that Mikasa had helped him through his dilemma, he was positive that he'd have the installment finished by the end of the week- 3 days tops. He fell asleep before his head hit the pillow.

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Well that's it for now. I'm so excited to get going with this, and hopefully will be able to do weekly to bi-weekly updates. Hope you guys liked it! Til next time folks!

Xoxo,

YnA


	3. Chapter 2: Love Me Do

Alrighty! Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out! I'm bad and like to jump the gun, so I have to force myself to pace things. Lol. But it's finally up now, so yay! I really hop you like it! -YnA

Chapter 2:

Eren was awoken by the melodic tones of 'Suite Madame Blue' beside his head- Hanji was calling him. He pressed the answer icon and held the phone to his ear. "Mm, morning" he drawled.

"Goooood morning my darling! I trust you slept well," came the voice.

"Not really" he grumbled, rubbing his eyes. He was _not _a morning person in the least. Although at least he'd had a normal bout of dreams this time. And it was just getting good too. He closed his eyes and sighed. He really needed to get laid; and he really needed to stop waking up to other people calling him. It was a terribly inconvenient habit.

"So what's up?" he asked. He knew by now that when Hanji called, that there was something exciting (at least to that person) going on.

"Astute as always, my clever friend" he could hear them winking over the phone. "I have excellent news! I want everyone to meet me at Tamward tonight at 20:30."

"Aye aye!" he exclaimed, sending a flamboyant salute to no one in particular as he climbed out of the comfort of his bed and hung up at the maniacal laughter on the other end of the line.

He trudged his way to his bathroom sink to brush his teeth and hair, pausing to look at the storyline he'd been unable to finish- he'd really need to work on that before going any further with the art line or risk running himself into another hole. He'd also need to heed Mikasa's previous words about doing his laundry. If she were to walk in and see the state of his apartment, she'd have a conniption fit. She'd almost gotten as bad as his former captain… Almost.

That reminded him that he needed to speak with the man; maybe he remembered his death as well and could tell him what he'd been saying when he'd finally closed his eyes for the last time. It was a little unnerving how soft his eyes became, when the rest of him had been hard and battle worn- he'd never seen the man smile and as final moments went, his was easily top 5 most gruesome and painful. It reminded him of the way his mother had been ripped apart.

Maybe he had just been relieved to not have to fight anymore. He could only imagine the amount of comrades the man had lost to the monsters before Eren had joined the corps. He quickly typed out the text to the man and pressed send.

_**Sadly Mikasa still holds the title, but I think you're gonna be in the top running. Do you remember anything yet? We could meet up for lunch **___

__He clicked his phone locked and set to work on separating the mounds of dirty clothes littering his bedroom floor. He always felt better when he was in a clean surrounding, and he needed to have a clear mind to figure out the new plot line for his series. It'd been running for a while and he was seriously considering ending the work in a most gruesome manner, but his fans needed something to give them hope.

_ "The world, the human race in its entirety, means nothing- __**has **__nothing- without hope. And you're it, Eren. You must bear the weight. You have to keep fighting; this is an order- get it done."_

He was halfway through sorting when he heard the text tone go off on his phone.

_** Well shit. I was hoping someone would beat her soon. Sure. I can take a lunch break around 13:00, but it'll need to close. -L**_

Eren chuckled at that- the man was a workaholic (not that he could criticize).

_**Cool. How about Subway then?**_

_** You're paying. –L**_

_** It's a date ;)**_

__Eren smiled and finished sorting his laundry and throwing in the first load. If he was efficient enough, he'd have most of his chores finished by the time he needed to leave to meet Levi. He walked to his desk and looked at his illustrations and formulating the different scenarios he could give his little couple. If he played things correctly, he could easily get another two to three years of submissions before he needed a new idea.

_**Subway is definitely not my idea of a good date, brat. –L**_

_**Snob **_he replied back quickly.

_** Cheapskate –L**_

_** See you then. –L**_

He couldn't help but laugh at the brash nature of the man. He always had a horrible exterior but those who knew Levi could see the good under the surface and thought it to be more endearing than anything. Like a Pomeranian puppy with a biting problem. A Pomeranian that could turn into a Doberman if he heard someone compare him to a Pomeranian.

He busied himself with his work, writing down key points to remember for later, happy to have a new, dare he say _hopeful_ ending. Heh, yeah right.

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Levi could feel his heart threatening to break free from his ribcage. That damn brat never even had a clue as to what his playful jibes did to the man. He hated this. Having to wait. He was never a particularly patient man, and having something (or someone) you want dangling in front of you was torture.

And he was lonely…

So many of his former comrades had gone forth and found lovers and had started families of their own. But he was stuck. For him there was no alternative; no fresh start. From the day he set eyes on the man he was bombarded with images of him. His eyes, his smiles, the curve of his muscular back, or the way his toes would curl in when Levi would drop his voice low to whisper in his ear. He was glad though, because once those memories began, most of his bad morphings had ceased entirely.

The boy was his saving grace, and yet he had to keep his distance. His lover didn't remember him. He only saw his former captain. At first, he thought perhaps Eren hadn't received any memories of their relationship at all, but the boy clearly only saw their past relationship as professional acquaintance. He felt his heart clench every time Eren was near, and break a little when he and Mikasa began dating. At least that hadn't lasted very long.

He was brought out of his reverie when a light rapping came at the door to his small office.

"Come in," he said raising his head and placing his phone in his desk drawer. He could agonize over unrequited love at a later date; right now was work time. He had something to look forward to now- it was so rare for him to get an excuse to see Eren, even if it was just a cheap and quick lunch.

"Excuse me sir-"

"What is it, Franz?" he asked, setting his eyes on the young man.

"You have a Ms. Zoë on line 2 about the project announcement tonight," the man replied back tersely, waiting for Levi to nod his head in acknowledgement before silently shutting the door and going about his business.

Levi counted slowly in his head before lifting to phone to his ear and pressing the connection button. "What is it Hanji? I was there when you planned the details of this thing, what's-"

"What're you wearing right now?!" the voice shouted over the line. He quickly yanked the phone off of his ear, wincing at the pounding reverberations in the appendage. There was truly something wrong with this person. Really, he should have known better by now though.

"Nothing but a cowboy hat on my cock, what the fuck Hanji?" he seethed.

"Levi, please, I need to know. What are you wearing?" they said, pleading apparent in their voice. He sighed, curiosity peaked.

"Black suit, red shirt, black tie. Now can you tell me why you're freaking out about my wardrobe choices?" he asked. Why was it so damn important Hanji knew what he was wearing?

"Thank goodness" they breathed out. It was now painfully obvious that he was missing something.

"Hanji, I'm losing patience."

"Oh! I'm sorry my dear. I just had a really weird experience. I had a morphing, but it seemed to have occurred in our world, not in Dimension K. I know it sounds crazy, but what if something goes wrong?" came the worried sound of his friend's voice.

Levi felt his body go rigid at their words. There was no way Hanji could have had a morphing of her own world. That just wasn't how things worked. All a morphing was was the reverberations of the feelings from their polar selves that translated into the memories that flowed through to their own minds. How could she remember something that hadn't happened?

"Were you asleep? Maybe it was just a nightmare," he reasoned.

"I wish that had been the case, but it happened shortly after I got off the phone with Eren. I was so worried when I came out I just had to call." Levi could feel his heart rate pick up speed.

"Well, I'm alright aren't I? What was I wearing in the morphing?" he asked.

"You were in…blue jeans and a gray t-shirt. I think. It's difficult to remember now. Why is that… do you think?" Hanji sounded confused and a bit depressed. That was wrong, not the way they were supposed to be in the least. Even in the darkest times, Hanji was his light.

"Hey, I'm fine, alright? Save the pessimism for me. We'll talk about it tonight with Erwin ok?" he reassured.

"Ok... But it's so strange, Levi! I never forget a dream, much less a morphing," he heard the unsure voice speak.

"It'll be ok… It's pretty damn hard to kill me… See you later, four eyes."

"Yeah. See you later, Levi" the phone call ended, and the two hung up.

Levi ran his hand wearily through his hair with a sigh. He really hoped they weren't making a mistake, but at the very least, they would all need to be alert and ready for anything. He decided to stop worrying about Hanji and her premonition in favor of finishing the expense reports Pixis had left on his desk. He had a lot of numbers to crunch and proposals to write if they wanted their funding to continue.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Shit!" Eren exclaimed. He stood up quickly- too quickly- and tripped over the leg of his chair. With a loud thud, the man landed squarely on his nose. He barely gave himself time to curse and rub the sore appendage before he was up and running to the front door; why was he always running late?

He stopped by the kitchen counter to grab his backpack and flew out the front door, slamming it shut and locking up haphazardly before running down the steps from his apartment to meet Levi. At least he was finished with everything. He felt like he could finally breathe now; all that was left was to take his finished work in to the office and submit it to Armin. Maybe he could take that vacation now- he wanted out of the city.

Fifteen minutes later he found himself in front of the Subway housed in the lobby of Levi's office building, out of breath and sweating a small bit from his gait. He saw Levi waiting for him near the front entrance; he'd grabbed them a table. Good.

"Yo, Levi!" Eren exclaimed, waving his arm enthusiastically as he jogged up to meet the other man. He saw the man look up from his laptop and wave back with a bored expression.

"Hey," Levi responded. He closed out the window he had opened in favor of greeting Eren.

"Sorry I'm running a bit late. I kind of lost track of time," Eren said sheepishly. He heard Levi harrumph quietly as he rose from his seat and patted him on the shoulder and shooting him a wry glance.

"You're only a few minutes late, and I needed to finish some things anyway," Levi said, starting towards the counter and beginning his order and beckoning Eren over. Eren chuckled, rubbing the back of his head with a grin. He walked over and ordered his sandwich, along with drinks and chips, and paid for their meals.

"See? I even got drinks and chips," he said with a wink. He turned to walk back to the table, not noticing the light blush dusting Levi's cheeks.

"Damn brat," he cursed under his breath, walking to join the man while swiping at his nose. The two sat down and began unwrapping their meals.

"Sooo, Levi? I was wondering if you remember anything about your death in K," Eren started. He looked over at Levi, who seemed to consider his question.

"Unfortunately I do not, but there is something odd going on. You've said that you remember my death, yet Hanji has had some sort of premonition involving my demise in this world, and I only seem to have small snippets of my alternate self's negative encounters. And the fact of Hanji's insistence that her vision was a morphing and not the product of a dream-"

"Wait, Hanji had a morphing of the present you?" Eren exclaimed looking up sharply at Levi. There was no _way _that should be possible. He watched the other man as he took a bite from his sandwich, seemingly uninterested, but he knew better. The guy may be emotionally constipated must of the time, but Eren could see the small rack of his façade. The man was unnerved.

"It would seem that way," Levi said, taking a sip of his coke. "Hanji was not herself either when she called. That person may be eccentric and filthy, but you and I both know that she's one of the best clairvoyants we have." Levi set his gaze on Eren, narrowing his eyes in curiosity. Fuck though, the images kept coming and he had to fight the blush threatening to rise with such memories. 'Wait, you old fool. He doesn't know you that way. Yet' he thought to himself, observing the way Eren gnawed on his straw in thought.

"What are your thoughts on the matter?" Levi asked the other man, finishing off his cold cut. He packed his things gingerly so as not to leave a mess, and waited for the younger man to form his thoughts.

"Well, it's hard to say. I mean, it could be a sign that we shouldn't be going through with the modification process, but on the other hand it could mean that the other Hanji could have found their way into this world," he explained. "It may turn out that we need the combined knowledge along _with _the ingredient in order to formulate the cure."

"Hmm, that may be a possibility," Levi agreed quietly. Eren snapped his attention to Levi, forgetting about his meal temporarily.

"Did they say how it happened? We can take precautions-"

"Oi, have some faith brat. I'm not exactly easy to kill," Levi interrupted tersely.

Eren softened slightly at the comment, his shoulders sagging back into a slouch. "You're right, Corporal. I know," he told the man.

Levi couldn't help but be taken aback by the title. "I'm not your captain anymore Eren. Just Levi, remember?" He didn't mention the motivation behind his need to hear his name called by his former lover. The world was indeed a cruel place.

"Yeah, sorry about that. Ahaha. Old habits die hard," he replied, scratching the back of his head and looking away sheepishly. Honestly, fuck that kid for being so damn cute.

"So, I'm _dying_ to hear. How did I die this time around?" Levi teased.

Eren looked back to Levi with an evil grin, all shyness lost the instant those words had left Levi's mouth. "Oh, it was great! Erwin, Mikasa, Hanji, Armin and Sasha were all there to witness it with me too! You got your legs severed at the knee before the thing turned you around and bit your head in half. Truly gruesome stuff, man. I was actually thinking about incorporating it into A World Apart, it was so damn badass. Truly worth the name Levi Ackerman," Eren boasted, folding his arms and nodding in a sagely manner.

"Hmm, still not quite Mikasa, but at least it's still going to an Ackerman," he agreed.

"So I guess that means I'll have to wait to hear what you were saying there at the end, huh" Eren mused. "Too bad, though. You looked… Happy, and soft."

Levi started at the admission, looking up sharply and eyes widening. That was significant. That was progress.

Eren realized how goofy he must have sounded. He laughed awkwardly, trying to hide the sudden embarrassment. "W-well, you probably have to get back to work. I'll see you later at the meeting tonight though," he stammered while rising from his seat.

Levi raised his eyebrow at the younger man's antics. "Your awkward is showing, brat," he commented as Eren smiled grinned widely back.

"Eheh. Sorry, you know how it is sometimes."

Levi looked at his watch, frowning at the time shown. He only had about five minutes to get back up to his floor in order to be finished in time for the meeting.

"See you later, then," he said, watching the love of his life walk away, ignorant of the affect he had on the man.

"Patience is a virtue, Levi," he said to himself under his breath, walking to the elevator to his floor.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Man that was difficult to get through. I always want to jump the gun and get to the fluff and smut! But hopefully I can reign myself in. Lol. I hope you like it so far! See you next time! -YnA


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